Games › Deckbuilding › Deckbuilding + Lovecraftian
Should I ship a Lovecraftian Deckbuilding?
Deckbuilding + Lovecraftian
Only 19 developers shipped a Lovecraftian Deckbuilding in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Magicraft, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 56 more are announced, ×5.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $72k, ×151 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $17k; 1 in 20 cleared $7.2M, ×15200 the market median. Revenue is down 75% on the market; 56 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $16k (exactly $16,189) |
|---|---|
| Median | $72k (exactly $71,706) |
| Top 25% | $215k (exactly $214,693) |
| Top 5% | $7.2M (exactly $7,219,965) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 19 |
| Released games | 36 |
| Announced | 56 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $8.99 |
momentum: how a niche's revenue percentiles and developer count moved between two equal, adjacent periods, divided by the market's own move. See method., 12 months: revenue down 75% on the market, supply 40% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 17%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Deckbuilding
- effort 3 / 10 · high · card pools and run logic
- Lovecraftian
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Deckbuilding; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Card Game, Roguelike
- Price point
- $8.99 typical · top 25% priced $16.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Atmospheric, Dark
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $16.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.
The top 10 games average 88% positive over 22,127 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $17k. 4 in 10 of the 10 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 56 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.1 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Deckbuilding with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + AutomationFair
- + Inventory ManagementFair
- + ArcadeFair
- + 2D FighterFair
- + Party GameFair
- + SwordplayFair
- + Point & ClickFair
- + Traditional RoguelikeFair
- + LogicFair
- + Dating SimPoor odds
- + Visual NovelPoor odds
- + RomancePoor odds
Comparable games
Magicraft 2024 · $7.2M 
Menace from the Deep 2024 · $1.3M 
Decktamer 2025 · $992k 
Roots Devour 2026 · $215k 
Railroads & Catacombs 2025 · $215k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Magicraft | $15.99 | 15,051 92% | 452k | $7.2M (exactly $7,219,965) | Wave Games | |
| | Menace from the Deep | $16.99 | 2,466 84% | 74k | $1.3M (exactly $1,256,920) | Flat Lab | |
| | Decktamer | $15.99 | 2,069 86% | 62k | $992k (exactly $992,499) | Horizon Edge | |
| | Roots Devour | $14.99 | 479 68% | 14k | $215k (exactly $215,406) | Rewinding Games | |
| | Railroads & Catacombs | $19.99 | 358 73% | 11k | $215k (exactly $214,693) | MadRails | |
 | SealChain: Call of Blood | $8.99 | 537 56% | 16k | $145k (exactly $144,829) | AliveGameStudio | |
 | Fhtagn Simulator | older | $7.99 | 535 89% | 16k | $128k (exactly $128,240) | 锁眼工作室 |
 | Hunter's Moon: A Sovereign Syndicate Adventure | $19.99 | 205 83% | 6.2k | $123k (exactly $122,938) | Crimson Herring Studios | |
 | Gods vs Horrors | $14.99 | 254 75% | 7.6k | $114k (exactly $114,224) | Oriol Cosp Games | |
 | BLOODLETTER | $15.49 | 229 79% | 6.9k | $106k (exactly $106,416) | ALDAMAMI GAMES | |
 | Dark Fairy Tale: Dreamland Survivors | $4.99 | 479 90% | 14k | $72k (exactly $71,706) | BINGOBELL |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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